Now that the hot weather is here to stay we have spent a couple of afternoons on the beach at Sabinillas.
The beach there has been awarded a blue flag which signifies it's cleanliness and suitability for swimming etc.
There are a number of beach bars (chiringuitos) all along the beach..just as well as cold beer is an integral part of being there. The sea is cool and sometmes not the cleanest..I guess the litter comes from passing boats or else is blown into the water somewhere..best not to think too much about it!
The recent temperatures have been in the mid 30's and so the beach is a welcome alternative to the golf course.
There is always plenty of room on the sand although the locals do like to set up just a few yards away, something to do with the herding instinct I suppose.
Wednesday, 23 July 2008
Polo anyone..?
Each July heralds the start of the polo season in the Sotogrande area and already we have attended on two occasions.
Sotogrande is situated only 15 minutes drive from Sabinillas and Manilva and so getting to the polo grounds is no problem. Entrance is usually free and watching the matches is a wonderful way of spending a couple of hours in the late afternoon sunshine.
There are three polo grounds in close proximity..Rio Sotogrande, Los Pinos, and Puente Hierrero. We have been to the latter and have had a wonderful time.
Matches comprise 5 or 6 chukkas each of 7 minutes with intervals of 3 minutes inbetween, and so each match is of about 50 minutes duration.
If you want to know more about the matches and competitions for the remainder of 2008 go to http://www.santamariapoloclub.com/
Sotogrande is situated only 15 minutes drive from Sabinillas and Manilva and so getting to the polo grounds is no problem. Entrance is usually free and watching the matches is a wonderful way of spending a couple of hours in the late afternoon sunshine.
There are three polo grounds in close proximity..Rio Sotogrande, Los Pinos, and Puente Hierrero. We have been to the latter and have had a wonderful time.
Matches comprise 5 or 6 chukkas each of 7 minutes with intervals of 3 minutes inbetween, and so each match is of about 50 minutes duration.
If you want to know more about the matches and competitions for the remainder of 2008 go to http://www.santamariapoloclub.com/
Friday, 27 June 2008
Noche de San Juan
Every year and always on 23rd June is held the Festival of San Juan. This is a traditional festival which starts in the late evening of the 23rd and goes on into the early hours of the 24th.
At the centre of the celebrations is a huge bonfire and this year a huge replica of an Egyptian temple was built on the Sabinillas beach a few days before and at around midnight it was set alight. A terrific fireworks display followed accompanied by music which built to a stunning finale.
It is customary to walk into the sea and walk out again leaving any bad luck behind you. This year was no exeception and the sea was filled with hundreds of people.
There followed live music and dancing which carried on into the early hours.
If you missed it this time make sure you put a note on your calendar for 2009 as it should not be missed.
At the centre of the celebrations is a huge bonfire and this year a huge replica of an Egyptian temple was built on the Sabinillas beach a few days before and at around midnight it was set alight. A terrific fireworks display followed accompanied by music which built to a stunning finale.
It is customary to walk into the sea and walk out again leaving any bad luck behind you. This year was no exeception and the sea was filled with hundreds of people.
There followed live music and dancing which carried on into the early hours.
If you missed it this time make sure you put a note on your calendar for 2009 as it should not be missed.
Monday, 23 June 2008
The ITV test
The ITV is the Spanish equivalent of the MOT test in UK. All cars are tested on a regular basis and even UK plated cars can now be covered. Once a car is over four years old, a test must be undertaken, and, depending on the age of the car the certificate has a validity of up to 2 years.
Claire´s car was tested successfully last week and the procedure is quite impressive.
It all started when a reminder was sent to us by post prior to expiry of the last certificate. I telephoned for an appointment and the earliest date was 19 June..14 days after expiry of the old certificate but that didn´t seem important. The appointment system has been introduced to eliminate the very long queues that used to form outside the testing station previously.
Our local testing centre is in the poligono at Estepona and I arrived just before the appointed hour to register and to pay the fee (39 euros)
I drove the car through the test which started with an under bonnet inspection followed by brakes, tyres, lights, emissions. all in all very thorough.
The Certificate is now valid for two years to 2010.
Claire´s car was tested successfully last week and the procedure is quite impressive.
It all started when a reminder was sent to us by post prior to expiry of the last certificate. I telephoned for an appointment and the earliest date was 19 June..14 days after expiry of the old certificate but that didn´t seem important. The appointment system has been introduced to eliminate the very long queues that used to form outside the testing station previously.
Our local testing centre is in the poligono at Estepona and I arrived just before the appointed hour to register and to pay the fee (39 euros)
I drove the car through the test which started with an under bonnet inspection followed by brakes, tyres, lights, emissions. all in all very thorough.
The Certificate is now valid for two years to 2010.
Tuesday, 17 June 2008
Some like it hot..(with apologies to Messrs Curtis and Lemmon)
Temperatures of 30+, warm breezes, cool in the evenings.
June has finally arrived and the weather has been fantastic. The beaches at Sabinillas, Chullera. Torreguadiaro etc have all been full of colourful beach umbrellas where people have been taking refuge from the hot sun, sometimes spending all day a la familiar.
Holiday makers still underestimate the strength of the ultra violet rays at this part of the year and believe that sun block is not an essential..they are easy to spot..they are the people coloured bright red walking stiff legged to the pharmacia!
The weekend was pretty much wall to wall golf. We spent most of late Saturday evening watching the US Open from Torrey Pines in California. Sunday was our day to play and we tee'd off at 1.30pm...talk about Mad Dogs and Englishmen. I stayed up late on Sunday to watch the conclusion of the US Open. Four days of play and the result was a tie..Tiger Woods,of course, along with Rocco Mediate doing it for the 'oldies' at 45 years of age. Play off on Monday and of course Woods won.
More golf on Monday for us and for me today again..in these temps we must be completely mad.
Claire off to UK tomorrow (Wednesday) to visit family.
Watch this space for a report about Easyjet et al!
June has finally arrived and the weather has been fantastic. The beaches at Sabinillas, Chullera. Torreguadiaro etc have all been full of colourful beach umbrellas where people have been taking refuge from the hot sun, sometimes spending all day a la familiar.
Holiday makers still underestimate the strength of the ultra violet rays at this part of the year and believe that sun block is not an essential..they are easy to spot..they are the people coloured bright red walking stiff legged to the pharmacia!
The weekend was pretty much wall to wall golf. We spent most of late Saturday evening watching the US Open from Torrey Pines in California. Sunday was our day to play and we tee'd off at 1.30pm...talk about Mad Dogs and Englishmen. I stayed up late on Sunday to watch the conclusion of the US Open. Four days of play and the result was a tie..Tiger Woods,of course, along with Rocco Mediate doing it for the 'oldies' at 45 years of age. Play off on Monday and of course Woods won.
More golf on Monday for us and for me today again..in these temps we must be completely mad.
Claire off to UK tomorrow (Wednesday) to visit family.
Watch this space for a report about Easyjet et al!
Friday, 13 June 2008
Back to normal (whatever that is)..
So we wake up for the first time in ten days with no prospect of seeing the grandchildren today.Hey ho.
Friday the 13th today,what else can go wrong? See the last posting about the truck drivers' strike. This morning's news says that it's set to continue so things will only get worse. The reduction in traffic is becoming noticeable and there are hardly any stocks on the supermarket shelves.
What does the weekend hold in store?
A BBQ tonight at the Schooners Inn, maybe some golf Saturday or Sunday, and generally re-charge our batteries after a busy few days.
Friday the 13th today,what else can go wrong? See the last posting about the truck drivers' strike. This morning's news says that it's set to continue so things will only get worse. The reduction in traffic is becoming noticeable and there are hardly any stocks on the supermarket shelves.
What does the weekend hold in store?
A BBQ tonight at the Schooners Inn, maybe some golf Saturday or Sunday, and generally re-charge our batteries after a busy few days.
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